Amen!

Chocolate Cake

These snowy weekends are beginning to run together. 
However, immediately after submitting a research proposal exploring the value of enabling youth to master cooking skills at a young age, I was in a whirlwind to get the house clean before the workweek madness hit. 
Laundry was progressing, dishes were caught up, floors were visible, dog treats were made and bathrooms were sanitized.  Almost to the finish line...

I was in the midst of soaking my nasty feet (pre-razor blade) while eating an avocado when I heard it:
"Mom, I'm bored"
Me not thinking:  Well, do you wanna cook something?
Maisie: I actually want to bake.
My floor was clean.  My counters were scrubbed.  But.... she wanted to bake.  I couldn't help but think of my research proposal.  Then, my mind went straight to St. Anne's Church cookbooks and those sticky swivel kitchen stools I think I grew up in.  I KNEW my mom would have said, 'sure, go for it', had I asked.
So, therefore I said, "Sure girls, go for it."

And that's how I ended up with chocolate cake on my counter.

Snowy Weekend Pics

A few of my favorites from the weekend.

This little one came home with a stinger hanging out of her butt cheek after school.  

I have no clue.

Jay got his hands on Papa's camera and knows the instruction manual by heart.  

This one is simply... this one.

and if the Greatest Showman ever comes to Des Moines Live, these girls are ready to be the background dancers.

Bring on more snow!

Catering and Valentines Day

My catering students when I tell them to go ahead and try the food we prepared... everyone had been served.  Then a straggler comes in to ask if we can make one more plate.  

Something is finally missing!

Spacers are in place.

The retainer should arrive tomorrow.

And headgear is in our future.

Aside from that, hope your Valentines Day is more romantic than mine!

Pancakes, Picnics and Drive

Tuesday snow day started with Pancake Art.  

Feelings were hurt, clothes were stained, disappointment was inevitable and bellies were full of raw batter.  

Just gettin' this party started.

Wanted to get my van out of the driveway.  

So much to do.

However, my van escaping captivity wasn't in the cards and found its way stuck in the yard.

I know... so many questions.

But we moved on to a nail salon Maisie launched on the dining room table.

And that is when we realized soaking Jay's feet in warm Epson salt water, then rubbing with a cloth takes the black off his toes and ankles.  

It was basically the most satisfying thing I've done since I pulled the flakes of ear wax from his ears with my tweezers and a flashlight.

Dry earwax, typical in East Asians and Native Americans, is light-colored and flaky, while ear wax found in Caucasian and African groups is darker, wetter and, a new study shows, smellier. If you would describe yourself as white or black, your earwax is probably yellow and sticky.

Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?q=asian ear wax vs caucasian ear wax&oq=asian ear wax vs caucasian ear wax&aqs=chrome..69i57j0.11686j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Is it obvious I'm taking a course on research studies?

But, the day carried on and led to a picnic!  

And why not?

It was just one more sheet to wash.

And besides, we had to celebrate the clean toes.

Then my little "Mike" showed up and decided to try to rescue the van.

Logically, he though the 4-wheel drive 4-wheeler and a chain would fix everything for me.

He didn't wear gloves and his hands were FROZEN.

But he was driven.

That's my favorite part.

It didn't work.

And he's currently in trouble with Mike for attempting this.

But...

That drive will take him places.

For that, I am grateful.

Sunday on Hickory

I'm beginning to believe children who don't grow up with a round ottoman are deprived of a true childhood experience...

Yet again, it's Sunday evening on Hickory Ridge.

Entertainment comes in all forms...

Gonna be a good week!

Hamburgers

Wednesday after school.  

The food pantry was open, so I didn't get home until nearly 5.  

Molly and Mack stayed after school with me.  Mack, because he hates riding the bus and Molly because she insists on being with me at all times physically possible.  Ross, Maisie, and Jay rode the bus home, but couldn't find the key to get inside the house.  This led to Maisie crawling through the doggy door into the garage, and still... the door to the house was locked.  

Meanwhile, I was stopping every 7 minutes to scrape the ice off the windshield on my way home.  Upon our arrival home, Molly, who has an appetite larger than a teenage boy (I have 2) insisted on cooking dinner.  And while my Maisie loves Slime and squishies, my Molly can't resist getting her hands deep in raw ground beef.  

Hamburgers in the air fryer it was.

Next up on the parenting forefront; safety and sanitation.

How We Deal

Isn't it funny how people deal with sadness?  

We took the kids to the Mexican Restaurant on Saturday.  

Apparently, that's how we celebrate 'life things' in our family.  

We celebrated the short life we shared with Gunny with food; naturally. 

I swear Molly was NOT drinking a margarita.

Sunday I took the girls to see Mary Poppin's at Jordan Creek.  

And, I let them wear make-up.  

Apparently, the theater has recliners now.  

I think the last movie I went to at the theater was Dukes of Hazard or Son Of God. 

Anyway, it was fine, but I've never been a big fan of Mary Poppin's.  

The cartoon mixed with real life is just too abstract for me.

However, the afternoon ended when Molly overate popcorn and felt nauseous.  

She brought the $1 she got from the tooth fairy last night in my white party purse (which has never been used).  But there was trauma when NOTHING in the mall cost $1. She almost bought a pair of socks from Forever 21 until I told her I'd loan her $2 for the bag of gummy candy she wanted instead.  

Only because it'd be a little more fun than a pair of socks.

Then she came home with tons of regrets about the sock decision.

I've come to the conclusion I can't win.

Then I come home and see this.  

On a ladder.  

Pencils in the back pocket of jeans that refuse to stay up.  

Isn't it funny how there is always that one smile that lights up the dark?

Grief

The hardest thing I did this week wasn't hearing Gunny was hit and killed by a car... 

it was after school, sitting in my classroom, telling my kids their puppy was gone.

They may have well ripped my heart straight out of me.

I wasn't prepared for their initial shock and disbelief, then their sobs, then the quiet, then the questions.

So Many Questions.

Ross needed to see the blood in the snow and visualize the entire event.  Molly needed to know why God would do that to us?  Maisie needed to know if Gunny felt it.  I didn't have many answers.  But I thanked God I had so much Faith to put into my responses.  I told Ross that's why Faith exists.  

For the really sad times, just like this.  Faith helps us find a little peace.  

Ross told me the pain wasn't just his stomach, it was higher, like in his lungs.  

I explained that's why they call it a broken heart.  

And it will feel the same when he loses his grandparents and parents one day.  

Grief is grief.

Nobody ever said being a parent would be easy...